Telescoping towers are traditionally used in areas unsuited for permanent tower installations such as in a military arena, a news hot spot, a disaster zone where existing communication lines have been temporarily or permanently disabled, and the like. Other uses include, but are not limited to, site surveys, testing and monitoring, data collection, and wireless data transfer. Most commonly, telescoping towers are used to facilitate the establishment of mobile communications in a relatively short period of time.
There are generally two known problems with mobile telescoping tower applications. First, as the height of the tower increases, the stability of both the tower and the interface or overlap between tower sections decreases. This is traditionally remedied with guy wires or the like. However, the process of installing guy wires can add an average of an hour to the installation and possibly require additional manpower, which are time and resources that are usually unavailable in an emergent or crisis situation, and which results in the second problem.
These two problems are resolved through the use of unguyed towers. By eliminating the need for guy wires, the time spent on guy wire installation can be better utilized during crucial emergency instances where communication towers are vital. Furthermore, unguyed towers can be advantageous where the use of guy wires and anchors are not feasible. Specific applications where guy wire use would be obstructed include urban areas with many buildings, near bodies of water, presence of underground cables or pipes, heavily wooded areas or hard, rocky ground.
There is a need, therefore, for an unguyed tower that can be erected quickly and efficiently, and that is stable at heights that traditionally require guy wire support. This need is met by the telescoping tower of the present disclosure.